Arranging a planetary gear set shifting system after the CVT as a means to increase the gear ratio range of the overall gearbox, in other words its spread, is known from EP 2 169 277. This planetary gear set comprises a two-range gear shift and a reverse gear shift. For larger input torques, such as for commercial vehicle applications, the output-side planetary gear set has to be very large. This means a relatively poor degree of efficiency, in particular in the range in which the planets revolve.
A multi-range CVT with fixed selectable gears, e.g. for starting or for maximum speed, is also known from DE 102 61 990 A1. In this case, however, the variator is uncoupled while these fixed gear ratios are operating. Consequently, there is only one infinitely variable range, not all the driving ranges can be operated continuously.